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emi -- ee a I 5 5. a A == - IN ya RURAL TRADITIONS I had the good fortune to attend a couple of com- munity functions last week that left me with a nice feeling about this place Scugog Township. The first was the annual "Farmers Night," hosted by the Blackstock and District Lions Club. The Club has been holding this evening each year for the last decade or so. It's a social night really, a chance for farmers in the area to get together, have a nice dinner and talk over whatever farmers talk over in mid-February. The guest speaker was Elmer Buchanan. He's a country boy from up Bancroft way who left the family farm for the classroom (he once taught here in Port Perry back in '66) Last September, he got himself elected to Queens Park in the NDP landslide and Premier Bob Rae promptly made him Minister of Agriculture, one of the most important and sensitive Cabinet portfoli- 0S. | went to the Lions "Farmers Night" to hear Bu- chanan speak and to prepare an article for the Port Perry Star. | was curious about what this freshman NDP ag minister was going to say to this group of farmers and rural people, most of whom, | would venture to say, have never voted NDP. After the appropriate introduction of the head ta- ble guests, Buchanan proceeded to speak for about 20 minutes. There wasn't much in the speech about specific agriculture or farm policies. In fact, there was pre- ~ cious little. But | liked the message that was contained with- in that speech: namely that rural values are good val- ues, and that rural communities are worth strengthen- ing. Buchanan spoke of his own child-hood in rural Ontario and some of the strong institutions that obvi- ously had an impact during those formative years: the church, 4-H, Junior Farmers, service clubs like Lions and Kiwanis. | was pleased to hear that his references to rural communities were not limited strictly to those who farm, but included people who live in the small villag- es and hamlets. He said at one point: "we (the government) want to see rural communities as masters of their own des- tinies, self-sufficient and supportive......... rural people afforded the same services and benefits that city peo- ple enjoy." Well, personally, I'm not sure that is practical or even possible. But for me, it was nice to hear a Cabi- net Minister even making reference to rural Ontario, and the need to improve and strengthen the commu- nities there. Don't get me wrong. People who live in small communities like Blackstock, Port Perry or Green- bank don't expect governments to build them opera houses, domed stadiums, subway systems or 12-lane highways. But | think that a lot of us have felt over the past few years that governments have treated us as the "poor country cousins" of Ontario while they pour truck-loads of money into the large urban centres where the votes are. | think Buchanan was being completely sincere in his address to the farmers last week. | think he's a guy who really believes in rural traditions and values, and will do everthing he can to strengthen them. | wish him well. Living and working in rural Onta- rio is a joy, but the traditions and values sometimes take a bit of a beating in today's modern age. OK, rural people don't need government to keep their values and traditions alive. But a little help along the way wouldn't hurt. And speaking of small-town traditions, how about the sport of curling. Is there any small town in rural Canada from the west coast to Nova Scotia that doesn't have its own curling rink? | doubt it. Curling is a way of life from October to April, and in many small communties, especially on the Prairies, the curling club is the centre of social ac- tivity. Curling ranks up there with hockey in importance to the fabric of rural life in this country. What a nice moment it was last Friday at the Port Perry Curling Club to see the opening ceremo- nies for the Ontario Elementary School Curling Championships. Led by piper Denise Diamond, more than 100 school kids, most from small towns, marched around the ice at the rink for the ceremonies. They were all dressed in red sweat shirts, a momento of the fact Port Perry is hosting this event. The traditional "first stone" was thrown by Effie Hezzlewood, 80 years of age. Grant MacDonald held the broom, while sweeping was by MP Ross Steven- son and his wife Elaine. I'm sure the memory of those opening ceremo- nies will stay with those kids for a long, long time. It was impressive. The sport of curling is one of the back-bones of small-town, rural Canada. Let's hope it stays that way. After all, it is be- cause of these values and traditions that most of us opted to live in rural Ontario. At least | did, anyway. Remember Lette I'S to the editor When? 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 28, 1946 Fifty seven young people of St. Johns Presbyterian Sunday School went for a good old-fashioned bob-sleigh ride. Mrs. Bill McMillan, Seagrave, a recent bride, was honoured by her friends and presented with a table and a Kenwood blan- ket. Mr. E. Fines and son Russell, and Mr. Tom Eden have fin- ished cutting over 150 cords of wood at Pine Point, Scugog. Mr. Charles Reesor attended the supper meeting of the Re- tail Feed and Grain Association in Brooklin. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 23, 1956 The Women's Association Groups of the United Church held a Valentine Party at the home of the president, Mrs. Roy O'Neil. During the evening Mrs. Ira Anderson, who is leaving Port Perry to make her home in Toronto was taken by surprise when she was presented with an aluminum tray and a Hymnary. Mrs. Starkey and son Glen leave for Placerville, California to join Mr. Starkey. They travelled by the way of Vancouver to visit friends, one time Port Perry residents, Mr. and Mrs. C.B. Morton, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Tease. Fuel oil sold for 16 &1/2 cents per gallon and stove oil sold for 20 cents a gallon. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 24, 1961 A "Meet the Champs" dinner was held at the Flamingo Res- taurant in honour of the All-Ontario Junior C Softball Champi- ons sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The Hon. M.B. Dy- mond was the guest speaker. Port Perry High School Drama Club presented "The Heir- ess" under the direction of Miss Nora McCully. Students taking part were Carol Nesbitt, Jim Reed, Eunice Roach, Marilyn Ree- sor, Elizabeth St. John and Betty Couves. A new emergency standby power generator was installed at the Community Memorial Hospital. Mr. Ralph Wilbur and Mr. Larry Kendall of Utica attended the York Presbyterian dinner held in Willowdale United Church. 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 24, 1966 The decision of the Department of Education that schools with a total enrolment of less than 100 pupils must join with neighbouring schools means that the three schools on Scugog Is (Turn to page 10) ho». - - Es Sn A WEEE BW CEE Was we te Remember bombing of London? To the Editor: I sympathize with those "peace- nicks" on TV who decry the death of a couple of hundred -- or 1800, or whatever -- civilians when a self-guided bomb hit the building they were in, said to be a military target. But they are too young to remember the bombing of Lon- don, Coventry, Rotterdam, etc., etc., where thousands of men, women, and children were vic- tims of indiscriminate bombing from the air. There were no automatically Ont. Nurses To the Editor: Earlier this month at the bargaining table, the chief negotiator for the Ontario Hospital Association told the union that represents registered nurses in this province: '"'even if we had unlimited funds, even if money was no ob- ject, hospitals do not believe that a nurse who has practised for 10, 15 or 20 years, is worth $30.00 an hour. You may get that wage someday, but not in two, or maybe even five years." On February 7, we found out that some hospitals are now hir- ing RNs through private agencies and paying the agency up to $37.50 per hour for the nurses' services. (The fact that the agency gets $37.50 per hour does not mean that the nurse gets that rate). If hospitals can pay an agency $37.50 per hour, why can't they pay their own employees $30.00 an hour? We are not asking for a 50 percent raise for every staff nurse in this province. We are asking for wages which recognize longevity for our senior staff nurses. The guided missiles in those days. There are two other differences between this war and the 1939-45; one: terrain and language. We can visualize clearly the scene depicted in '"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain," but what can we do with sand, Qatar, Basra, Dhahran, Riyadh, Bahrein, Amman, Iran? There are too many 'ah's and not enough 'ay's. Example: '"Bahrein--sees planes--that aint- -Saddam Hussein's."" Even Pro- fessor 'Iggins couldn't do much arbitration current span between a new graduate and an RN with 10-20 Turn to Page 8 better. Finally, I have seen or heard just one joke coming from this war: An Iraqi father says to his son, "I saw you and your wife last night in the park." The son replies, 'Oh, that wasn't my bag, dad." Marquis' Who's Who in the World (5th ed., 1980-81) gives Sad- dam Hussein's year of birth as 1937. Just let me have a paragraph To add this little EPITAPH: Saddam Hussein, we all know well Was born in '37 But when he dies, he sure as H-- Won't see the gates of H-- Yours truly, Warren T. McCready, Greenbank THINK SAFETY WATCH YOUR STEP